Chapter 5

Rabbit slaughter and processing

Of critical importance to any rabbit meat production enterprise is the efficient and hygienic slaughter and handling of the animals and also the hygienic handling of the carcases. This applies to both the large-scale commercial enterprises and small-scale enterprises alike. Problems concerning these aspects are common to meat production from all types of livestock in developing countries, particularly in rural areas.

The relatively small size of the rabbit presents advantages over larger kinds of livestock in that slaughter and transport is easier. Moreover, the rabbit carcase can be readily consumed by a few people so that processing and preservation is not always necessary.

Although it is not intended to treat the slaughter and handling of rabbits in great detail in this chapter, some general principles should be noted.

Rabbits should be starved for about six to ten hours before slaughter, to empty the gut as far as possible. They should be well watered during this period to prevent dehydration and weight loss especially in warm weather.

It is better to slaughter rabbits in an area fenced or walled off from other people and domestic animals such as dogs. It is also preferable to have a roof of some kind over the area and a water supply for cleaning purposes.

Rabbits are best slaughtered by dislocating the neck. The hind legs should be held firmly in the left hand, with the right hand holding the rabbit's head directly behind the ears. Pulling sharply on the head with a downward and backward twist of the hand will effectively break the neck. This operation should be followed immediately by bleeding, which is best carried out by severing the head with a knife in one smooth cut.

Skinning and dressing the carcase is most conveniently carried out while the rabbit is suspended from a horizontal rail or bar of some kind. The rabbit can be attached to this bar by the hind feet using simple shackles, which can be made from a thick gauge wire. A simple rail system can be constructed from tubular steel. While it is not suggested that each producer attempts to make or purchase such equipment, it could be utilised on a co-operative basis in a village.

Skinning can take place when the head and forefeet have been removed. A light incision is made around the hock on each hind leg and a cut is made to the vent and around it. The skin can then be pulled off the carcase in one piece without further cutting, the front legs being pushed through. The skins should be hung up individually and carefully handled as outlined in Chapter 6.

Evisceration is effected by making a longitudinal cut through the body wall from the vent through the belly to the breast bone. The gut, lungs and heart are removed through this cavity while the liver and kidneys are usually left in the carcase. Care should be taken, however, to remove the gall bladder without bursting as the contents could taint the carcase (Ministry of Agriculture, 1973). (Another Report in this series will deal with the principles of the slaughter of animals under rural conditions with emphasis on hygiene and inspection.) The remainder of the offal should not be thrown away as it constitutes a useful source of protein. Investigations into simple methods of converting such offal into proteinaceous concentrates suitable for animal feeds are currently taking place at the Tropical Products Institute.

Although rabbit carcases are mostly consumed fresh, where this is not the case some kind of processing and preservation becomes necessary. Again the small size of the rabbit presents the advantage of easy handling. Facilities such as refrigeration are not always available in rural areas of developing countries, so in these areas more traditional methods of processing have to be considered. The oldest and most widely used methods of processing and preservation of meat in rural communities involve drying, smoking and sometimes salting. The principles of these methods are well described in the literature (Mann, 1960; Ashbrook, 1955; Pellett and Miller, 1963).

In West African countries, a large rodent, Thryonomys swinderianus or 'grasscutter', which is similar in size to the rabbit (Asibey, 1974; Ajayi, 1971), has been used for meat for many years. The animal is often preserved by drying and smoking and the skin may be left on to reduce wastage (Figure 9). To the best of the author's knowledge the same procedure is used with rabbits in Ghana (Mamattah, personal communication). Figures 10 and 11 demonstrate rabbit carcases, unskinned and skinned respectively, smoked and dried at 80°C for 12 hours in a kiln at the Tropical Products Institute laboratories. The final moisture content of the meat was approximately 40%.

The success of rabbits in contributing to the animal protein supplied in developing countries will be very much dependent on the acceptability of rabbit meat to local communities. There can be a great variety in the meat eating habits of people even in different parts of one country. Processing, such as drying or smoking, would not only improve the storage life of rabbit carcases but could also improve its acceptability to local communities by providing a product of a familiar type. It should be remembered, however, that in many countries the shortage of meat is such that almost any form of this commodity is readily eaten.